Since those birds arrived here, every night has always been filled with the echoing caws of the crows. It was a bristling tone that disturbed my concentration whenever it occurred, and accompanying those were the weak moans of the walking corpses below.

  I didn't notice it at first because I was busy dreading my future, but as the days passed, the inconvenience that those birds brought since they settled near my base became more noticeable. Every night, they caw in a set rhythm of two or three coos. It was hard to just open my windows willy-nilly because they might notice me. It felt so stifling just covering the windows with the curtains. Without anything to distract me, one of the new pastimes I've had was staring at the skies. The night sky might be a looming darkness, concealing the usual starry skies and moonlight, but it at least helped me calm down and contemplate things like what I'm doing now. Now it was impossible due to those crows.

  I can't just use my phone to distract myself. Even if I have offline games installed on my phone, the looming presence of a threat nearby killed my mood for even entertaining that thought.

  So with nothing else to do, I am just lying on my bed. Sometimes I open my phone to pass the time, but most of the time I'm just staring at the ceiling while making sure to be alert at anything.

  I am not doing anything, and I am scared of doing anything.

  If there is someone besides me, I will feel a bit more at ease. Just being alone while threats loom all around me is draining. Heh. Me? An antisocial shut-in thinking about being with someone? How ironic!

  Well... They do say, "No man is an island." I always scoff at that word, because I think I can just live even without mingling with others, but in my current situation, being alone is adding a lot to my stress.

  If there is no one besides me to reassure me, then if things get rough, then I will die alone. Forgotten. Just a statistic in this new brutal era...

  I'm always convinced that those don't concern me, but with a high possibility of danger to my life, it made me realize just how much I crave protection. Now I know that I don't have the qualifications to survive on my own. If not for my powers, then I am sure I will be forcing myself to go outside just to immediately die from some random monster out there.

  There is also another reason. Now that I don't have the sense of security people usually have in the modern world, I am forced to confront my own loneliness. I don't have anyone to talk to. I can't just go to a forum and say whatever I want because the internet is down. There are no videos I can watch just to feel like I am aware of the world. Without computers and the internet, I'm just a nobody.

  Ugh... Even the safety net I have through my connection to the Star River Conglomeration as one of the daughters of its CEO is gone. Wealth doesn't matter in this hellscape.

  Not like I've gotten any lavish support from them. I've only gotten the bare minimum just to leave comfortably for my day-to-day. It's not like my parents cared about me. I'm the untalented one they just threw away.

  And now I got reminded of my parents again... Ugh, I hate this!

  Happy thoughts, Yakumo. Happy thoughts!

  Nothing will happen. It's been days since those giant crows nested on top of that building, and not once did they look at me. They were more focused on the zombie variants and ignored the common ones that usually shambled stiffly on the streets. I've also checked and noticed that they have been avoiding enclosed areas. I haven't seen them try shoving their heads on broken walls of the buildings despite clearly having more zombie variants visible in it.

  The most they tried hunting were zombie variants and even the creatures beneath those piles of dead husks. It just recently happened, but I caught two of those large crows ganging up on one of those large piles of dried-up corpses and then dragging out a black, gooey creature from within it. I saw that amorphous creature thrash around for a moment before it stilled when those three birds tore it apart.

  That is terrifying!

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Those birds are clearly superior, and they seem immune to zombie infections because I've seen them continuously feast on the flesh of the undead. Even the flesh mountain seemed to be their smorgasbord, as every morning, I saw most of those giant crows gathered around on some of them, feasting on top of those amalgamations.

  Anyway, so far, their behavior suggests they prefer hunting in the open. So I might be able to stay here for a long while. Though I have to be careful. They are clearly interested at the sight of burning zombies whenever I do my daily molotov throws.

  I have to be optimistic about this. It's not the end of the world... Oh wait, the world has already ended!

  ... Whatever. I just have to hold onto hope and continue believing that nothing bad will happen.

  The following day is peaceful. I'm getting used to the presence of those birds. They also made sure to deal with the zombie variant population. The number of reddish and brownish mountains on the street has visibly decreased, which is a good thing.

  It affected my mana grind for a bit. I usually get around one to two minutes' worth of stay in a mirror world whenever I throw those molotov. Now, I only get at least 20 to 40 seconds' worth of it. It's still decent, but being incapable of seeing my target and with the decrease in the zombie population, my mana capacity's growth has slowed down.

  I only managed to extend the duration of my stay up to 55 minutes. That's decent enough. I'm planning to reach one hour before I do my next dive. Having an hour of stay in a mirror version of this building will surely let me have more time to look around, and I might even find something that I might usually miss in my hurry.

  Those are my plans anyway.

  After my throwing attempt was done, I spent the entire day eating a tandem of canned tuna and cup ramen. After that, I clean myself up, do some light exercise, and then just spend the time resting on my bed while occasionally peeking out the window to check on the situation outside.

  Evening quickly comes as I am doing that. It's mind-numbingly boring, but I always remind myself that this is fine. I can't just complain that things are harder when I am living in the comfort of my room.

  The night passes by quietly. The occasional cawing of the birds and the distant groans of the dead become a background that lets me know of their presence. It is chilling, but I am used to it.

  As I expected, nothing bad will happen.

  Maybe, in retaliation to those optimistic thoughts, fate decided to conspire against me.

  I'm just feeling sleepy and have been planning to rest after another long day of checking the situation outside when all of my sleepiness vanished at the noise of something occurring. A heavy thud that didn't originate beyond my windows but rather somewhere beyond the entrance of my door reached my ears.

  "...!?"

  A subtle sound different than the distant groans and the caws of the birds outside. It was heavy and slow, yet it surely was approaching this side. It was the sound of heavy footsteps hitting the smooth tiled floors of the hallways.

  And then it stopped. I just noticed that I've been gripping my fists so tightly that my nails almost dug into my skin. My heart is pounding like a drum, fast and vibrating within my ears. A sense of chill running through my spine.

  And then... a knock. A rhythmic noise echoed in my room as the sound of knuckles hitting the door resounded in my ears.

  And then, the unmistakable sound of a groan, a hoarse voice akin to a person dying of thirst, occurred behind the door, groaning like an old man who has awoken from their long slumber.

  Fear gripped my heart.

  I have been staying in this building for more than a month. I've already given up on the thought that a survivor was coming here, thinking that everyone in this city has already died. It's been so long, and I've always thrown a lot of molotov, and even in the first two weeks, I dumped a lot of knives around in random directions. A normal, thinking person would surely grow curious and try to establish contact with me at least, right?

  So, whoever was behind that door was definitely not human!

  Still... Even if I logically knew that, within my heart, there was a hope that it might be someone. I'm hoping for it to be a person.

  I've been alone for so long. So I didn't manage to stop myself. Unable to control myself, I just uttered it without thought.

  "Who's there?"

  I said it loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear me. This is the first time I've spoken that loud. I usually try to speak in a whisper when I can't help but talk to myself.

  I froze up when I uttered those words. I quickly clamped my mouth shut with my hands. While I reprimand myself for doing such a stupid thing, I stare anxiously at the way to my entrance.

  I noticed that the knocking had stopped. The place turned silent for some time. Only the sound of the cawing and the distant moans below reached my ears.

  Though it was only for a short moment, before suddenly--

  "UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaa--!!!"

  A distorted shriek startled me out of my stupor. I almost squeaked in surprise and actually screamed in terror when a strong, blunt force hit the door. The sound of oaken wood groaning at the force made me tense, and the follow-up rampage of the monster beyond that door jolted my body into action.

  "R-right... the weapon!"

  This is a first. That inhuman scream couldn't possibly be from a person. If they are a survivor, they should already know that noise is one of the things you shouldn't do in a zombie apocalypse. They did that anyway, without uttering any coherent word back to me.

  So there is only one possible explanation left.

  There is a zombie in front of my sanctuary!